City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME III
The recommendation process demanded extensive dialog. After each recommendation was completed and
deemed ready by the AHCC, it was then sent to the appropriate Shared Governance committee for more
discussion and recommended action. Many of the recommendations had to be discussed and approved
by more than one Shared Governance committee, so this process sometimes required additional dialogs.
The Board of Trustees and the community were kept abreast of the progress of the Enhanced Self-Study
through several information-sharing venues and some dialogs: through the Chancellor’s addresses at FLEX
day each semester and his report to the Board; through actual participation on committees; and through
the Academic Senate President’s report. Regular updates on the ESS were provided to the College community
though articles in City Currents and through the College website. Comments and questions were
encouraged throughout the process. Three critical College Shared Governance committees also provided
valuable input during their discussions of the ESS recommendations: the College Council, composed of all
department chairs and head administrators; the Department Chairs Council, composed of all department
chairs; and the Chancellor’s Cabinet, composed of all head administrators.
At the end of the Enhanced Self-Study, a questionnaire was distributed to 170 participants for feedback
about the process. The findings revealed that interest in improving student success was the prime
motivating factor for participation and that most participants felt that the process of identifying priorities
was comprehensive and effective, with ample opportunity to share ideas and to hear differing points of
view. They also indicated that because of the experience with the ESS, institutional awareness of the issues
affecting student success had been raised.
Outcomes from the ESS are significant and still underway. Thirty-four (34) recommendations came from
the five ad hoc committees, 27 of which have been either approved and implemented or approved but
put on hold for various reasons. Three examples of improvements resulting from this dialog-intensive
process are:
• extending matriculation support by changing the criteria by which students receive matriculation
services, to ensure that a wider range of basic skills students avail themselves of these services;
• identifying the need for a College assessment plan and implementing an ongoing program
of student outcomes research, dissemination, and response; and
• providing early intervention for pre-collegiate basic skills students by identifying pre-collegiate basic
skills students as those whose placement test scores place them in Math E or an English or ESL course
that is non-degree applicable. The purpose of the identification is to improve their access to proper
counseling services.
Service Learning and Associated Student Elections—Student-Initiated Dialogs. Students sometimes
initiate dialogs related to their learning and issues of importance to them. There are many inspiring examples
of how service learning has transformed the learning experience for students, but only two examples
can be described here: an environmental education experience and one of Project SHINE’s initiatives. Both
of these examples are coordinated through the Office of Mentoring and Service Learning, using its advisory
group and ongoing dialogs with faculty, students, and community organizations.
Students in Biology 20 (Introduction to Ecology) approached their instructor in 1998 requesting more
hands-on experience in ecology. After discussion with the students, the instructor put them in contact
with the site stewardship coordinator of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (GGNPC) and
agreed to offer extra credit points to all students for a Saturday morning spent restoring critical habitat
in the national parks around San Francisco. After the instructor and the GGNPC site coordinator agreed
to organize the habitat restoration mornings so that there would be about an hour of instruction to three
hours of work, students and the instructor met with the GGNPC site coordinator to learn more about the
286 CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO